Written by Maddie Conlin-Day, Photos by Maddie Conlin-Day
“I have always been very relentless with my work in exposing my own truths. And I have made my family uncomfortable,” SCAD alumna Stephanie Forbes, M.F.A painting, 2019, said.
Relentless is the best word to describe Forbes’ mantra in creating her upcoming exhibition “ROOT”. She has worked 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day for a month in the SCAD Atelier building. Immediately upon walking into her studio you are greeted by a sea of half-shelled oysters, waiting to be included in Forbes’ deeply personal work. “ROOT” is Forbes’ celebration of her Southern heritage and an exhumation of intergenerational trauma.
Originally, when applying to the SCAD Atelier program, Forbes said she set an intention to create angry work to fill the frustration of forgetting her past and uncovering family secrets. Once Forbes submitted to her craft and allowed her subconscious to take over her creative process, her anger quickly subsided.
“Family is huge, and it is because I am the culmination of everyone in my family… whether you are trying to go against it or embrace it or you are happy about it or not,” Forbes said. “The roots of it all come down to you, you are the beginning of a new sprout.”
With family at the forefront of her work, it is unusual to see Lowcountry life in the spotlight. “ROOT” is a delicately beautiful exploration of Forbes’ rediscovery of her childhood memories and the people who impacted her most in her early years.
One of her most important relationships was with her grandfather, which is immortalized as camellia flowers in her upcoming show. Her relationship with her grandfather is as transparent as the resin used to cast the camellia. No secrets were ever kept by him, except for one between the two of them.
On a day “as sweet as honey,” Forbes said, she walked with her grandfather past a tree she must had seen a hundred times before. Her Papa, who had battled heart problems for years, offered to pick a camellia off the tree. He stumbled and fell. Startled, crying and shaken up, 7-year-old Forbes remembers her grandfather profusely apologizing and asking her to never mention that moment to her grandmother. Later, her grandfather apologized to her because “families do not keep secrets,” Forbes said.
“ROOT” is a multimedia exhibition at Cedar House Gallery from April 2-6. The show features conceptual based work in sculpture, large-scale installation, photography, video and jewelry. “ROOT” aims to be accessible to everyone so that they might find a piece that resonates with their own journey and healing.
Learn more about Forbes and “ROOT” on her website and Instagram.
